Patients for Patient Safety Canada

No one goes into our healthcare system expecting to be harmed. The sad truth is that approximately 1 in every 10 individuals is harmed in healthcare and 1 in 17 hospital stays in Canada involved at least one harmful event (a total of 146,000 in 2022-23). Over the next 30 years, it is expected that a patient safety incident will occur in Canada nearly every minute, and a resulting death nearly every 13 minutes – that is almost 30,000 preventable deaths each year according to this report.

Patients for Patients Safety Canada (PFPSC) is the collective voice of patients and families who experienced preventable healthcare harm. We are the only patient-led, Canadian organization dedicated solely to patient safety. We are the Canadian arm of the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Patients for Patient Safety Global Network (PFPS) and recognized by WHO as a global leader.

For almost two decades, working in partnership, we have successfully shaped hundreds of patient safety resources, practices, programs, and policies including:   

• disclosure, incident analysis, and incident management,
• Connected Care Act, Vanessa’s Law, and other patient safety legislation, 
• medical incident reporting and prevention, never events,
• hospital harm, measurement and improvement resources, teamwork and communication,
• Engaging patients in patient safety – a Canadian guide,
• rethinking patient safety

Now, as an independent incorporated patient-led not-for-profit organization, we are ready and committed to make lasting change. With the rates of harm still increasing, our collective action is needed more than ever. Here is the roadmap guiding us towards our vision.